Westville is an area in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, and is just west and 10 km inland from the Durban CBD. It was a formerly independent municipality however it became part of the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality in 2002.
The climate is subtropical; Westville experiences mild, dry winters, and hot, humid summers with frequent late afternoon downpours.
History
The settlement began in 1847 as the farm "Westville" (named in honour of Martin West, the first British lieutenant-governor of what was then the province of Natal). In March 1848 a group of Germans, brought out by Jonas Bergtheil, arrived in Port Natal to settle the area and farm cotton. They established several farms both in Westville and neighbouring New Germany (the two settlements are separated by the Palmiet Valley), and were a tight-knit community. The Westville settlers would travel through Palmiet Valley on Sundays to attend the Lutheran Church in New Germany. When their cotton crops failed the first year, settlers were granted permission to farm other crops like potatoes, mielies (corn), barley and oats. The city of Durban provided a ready market for their produce.
The 'German House' owned by the Lange family on what is today Jan Hofmeyr Road became an important stopover for those travelling the Old Main Road between Durban and Pietermaritzburg. The Outspan Tree alongside the hostelry is now a national monument. The Bergtheil Museum, located on what is today 16 Queen's Avenue, was built in the 1840s and is the oldest remaining house in Westville. It offers visitors an idea of early settler dwellings and farming practices.
The 1850s saw the addition of Scottish and English settlers to Westville. In the 1870s, Indian market gardeners moved into the area too. In time, the German settlers integrated with other settlers and began to speak English.
Westville was proclaimed a borough in 1956. It was incorporated into the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, along with Durban and various surrounding towns, suburbs and villages as part of the post-apartheid re-organisation of South Africa's municipalities.
Geography
Westville is located in a hilly region between the uMbilo River (south) and the Palmiet River (north) and sits just above the coastal city of Durban at an elevation of between 107m (351ft) and 300m (984ft) above sea level.
The town is bounded by Queensburgh to the south, Clermont to the north-west, Pinetown to the west and by the neighbourhoods of the city of Durban: Reservoir Hills to the north and Sherwood to the east. It is also centrally located to a few surrounding townships, namely Cato Manor, Clermont and Chesterville.
Suburban areas
The 2011 census listed the following areas as sub-places under the main place of Westville:
Atholl Heights
Berea West (the suffix "West" was added to the suburb to differentiate from the suburb of Berea in Durban approximately 6 km to the west) Chiltern Hills Dawncliffe Dawncrest Grayleigh Westville proper The northern suburbs of Atholl Heights, Chiltern Hills, Dawncrest, Grayleigh are collectively known as "Westville North".
Education
Schools situated in Westville include Star College Durban Westville Boys' High School, Westville Girls' High School, Atholl Heights Primary School, Berea West Junior Primary School, Berea West Senior Primary School, Pitlochry Primary School, Westville Senior Primary and the Deutsche Schule Durban. Higher education centres include a 2-square-kilometre campus of University of KwaZulu-Natal (formerly the University of Durban-Westville) and Varsity College (Westville campus).
Specialist schools such as The International Hotel School, based at the Westville Hotel, and The Fusion Cooking School can also be found in Westville.
Religions
There are several churches in Westville, including the Westville Methodist Church on 38 Jan Hofmeyr Road, Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church on 14 Westville Road, the Westville Baptist Church on 2 Church Place, St Elizabeth's Anglican Church on 45 Salisbury Avenue, and OneCity Church, which meets at the Westville Country Club. Mosques in Westville include Habibia Soofie Masjid, a Soofie mosque, on 119 Jan Hofmeyr Road, and the Westville Jaame Musjid on 46 Meerut Road.
Economy
Offices
Westville boasts multiple business parks such as West Way Office Park and Essex Gardens in the south of Westville. Business parks in Westville are well-spread with a number of them located in the CBD and in the east of the town.